1. Field of the Invention
The present disclosure relates to a power socket; in particular, to a power socket with a photo-interrupter for sensing presence of a plug inserted in the power socket.
2. Description of Related Art
In recent years, more and more power sockets are disposed with a light sensor for sensing whether the plug is inserted into the jack set of the power socket. For example, CN Patent Pub. No CN103500902A, CN203631896 U, CN101859964 A, or CN102035521 B, disclose a power socket with a light sensor for sensing whether a plug is inserted into the jack set of the power socket. More specifically, when the plug is inserted into the jack set of the power socket, a light emitted from a light-emitting portion of the light sensor is interrupted by the plug. Correspondingly, the light-receiving portion of the light sensor does not receive the light emitted from the light-emitting portion, and then the power socket determines whether a plug is inserted into the jack set of the power socket according to the sensing result of the light sensor.
But the prior art does not disclose how to dispose the light sensor into the power socket, and only simply discloses or shows the coupled relationship of the elements in the power socket. Furthermore, U.S. Pat. No. 7,575,467 provides an electrically safe receptacle which includes a strategically placed sensor to detect the insertion of a male plug. However, U.S. Pat. No. 7,575,467 fails to specifically disclose the structure of the sensor.
In another prior art, U.S. Pat. No. 6,176,718, provides an electrical receptacle which makes use of one or more sensors to detect blade insertion, ground plug insertion, presence of the plug face motion near the receptacle face or a combination thereof. The sensors can include diffuse reflective sensors, which includes the LED and the photodetector. The LED emits lights, some or all of which can be blocked from passing through the blade aperture of the blade to strike the photodetector. Consequently, a properly inserted blade is detected by a characteristic amount of emitted light striking the photodetector after passing through the receptacle blade aperture. A greater than characteristic amount of light means that either no blade is present, or a small object such as a paper clip has been inserted. Too little light means that either the LED is burned out or a larger or adequately shaped foreign object has been inserted.
Therefore, if there is too little or too much light, the plug component sensor would indicate an unacceptable condition. If a characteristic amount of light is observed, this plug component sensor would indicate an acceptable condition. As such, the detecting means disclosed by U.S. Pat. No. 6,176,718 is not adapted to detect the blade without the aperture. Moreover, no insulation or insulating housing is disposed between the sensor and the inserted blade, so it may cause a short circuit phenomenon between the inserted blade and the sensor, an incorrect sensing result generated by the sensor, or even damage of the sensor and the power socket, which may affect the safety of the power socket.
In addition, for a common household, there are many power sockets disposed in the house and the power sockets are usually widely distributed. When many power sockets have been inserted with plugs of a plurality of electronic devices, a user may be unable to clearly know which power sockets have been inserted with a plug. Consequently, the user will be unable to effectively manage the power sockets.